Meanings
comparative more purposely · superlative most purposely
- On purpose; intentionally.
I purposely left the door unlocked.
1 more example
[T]hey would ſay [...] that I had quarrell'd / My brother purpoſely, thereby to finde / An apt pretext, to baniſh them my houſe.
1598, Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Euery Man in His Humour. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 21Synonyms: deliberately, intentionally, on purpose, purposefully[proscribed]]>, wilfully, willfully
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbOn purpose; intentionally.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbwith intention; in an intentional manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishpurposly
- Englishpurposely
From Middle English purposly; equivalent to purpose + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian нарочно
- нарочно (naročno)on purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Chinese Mandarin 故意
- 故意 (gùyì)on purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Czech schválně
- schválněon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Finnish tahallaan, tarkoituksellisesti
- tahallaanon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- tarkoituksellisestion purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- varta vastenon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- tieten tahtoenon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
French exprès
- exprèson purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
German absichtlich
- absichtlichon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Hungarian szándékosan
- szándékosanon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Irish d'aon toisc
- d'aon toiscon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Italian apposta, di proposito
- appostaon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- di propositoon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- intenzionalmenteon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Japanese わざと
- わざと (wazato)on purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Latin consultō
- consultōon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Polish celowo
- celowoon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Portuguese propositadamente
- propositadamenteon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Russian наме́ренно, специа́льно
- наме́ренно (namérenno)on purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- специа́льно (speciálʹno)on purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Scottish Gaelic a dh'aon ghnothach
- a dh'aon ghnothachon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Spanish intencionadamente, aposta
- intencionadamenteon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- apostaon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
- a propósitoon purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Swedish avsiktligt
- avsiktligton purpose; intentionally — see also on purpose, intentionally
Cite this entry
purposely. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purposely
“purposely.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purposely. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “purposely,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/purposely.
Source: purposely on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.